Volume 14 Issue 9   .                                                                                              Spring 2020

Thank you for being a Safety Source family!

Pedestrian Safety Edition

This week we want to focus on Pedestrian Safety and provide you with tips on how to keep your whole family safe when walking or running outside. There are interactive tools for your children to learn the importance of Pedestrian safety as well as information for parents.  We hope this will be a fun way to learn about important safety topics together as a family. Let us know if we can be a resource to you in anyway!

The weather is getting warmer and more people are walking. Drivers and pedestrians alike share the responsibility of keeping themselves and others on the road safe. Unfortunately, pedestrian fatalities remain high. The number of pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in 2018, totaling 6,283 deaths¹

All ages are at risk

Every age group is vulnerable, though 10- to 14-year-olds and 50- to 69-year-olds have 20% or more pedestrian deaths as a percentage of all traffic fatalities.

Be Visible

Always make sure you’re visible to drivers and make eye contact with them whenever possible. This is especially important at night, in low-light conditions such as dusk or dawn or in inclement weather. According to NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 32 percent of all pedestrian fatalities occur between 8 p.m. and 11:59 p.m.

• Wear lightly colored or reflective clothing at night and brightly colored clothing during the day.
• Stay in well-lit areas, especially when crossing the street.
• If possible, make eye contact with drivers in stopped vehicles to ensure they see you before you cross in front of them.

Walk in Safe Places

• Whenever possible, walk on the sidewalk; if no sidewalk is available, walk facing traffic
• Cross streets at crosswalks
• If no crosswalk is available and your view is blocked, move to a place where you can see oncoming traffic
• Look left, right and left again before crossing the street, making eye contact with drivers of oncoming vehicles to make sure they see you
• Watch for cars entering or exiting driveways or backing up in parking lots

Head Up, Phone Down

Distracted walking incidents are on the rise, and everyone with a cell phone is at risk. Stay alert and watch out.

• Put down your phone. Smartphones and handheld electronic devices are a daily part of life, but they take your eyes off of the road and distract your attention.
• Don’t wear headphones. Your ears will tell you a lot about what is happening around you – be sure to use them.

To ger more tips on how to keep your kids safe visit https://www.safekids.org/walkingsafelytips

Source: 1. NHTSA,National Safety Council, AAA

Air bags are often a forgotten car essential until they are needed. However, it is important to understand why air bags were created and how to properly use them while riding in the car. Keep in mind, air bags were designed to work alongside seat belts, not to replace them. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, “Air bags reduce the chance that your upper body or head will strike the vehicle’s interior during a crash. All new cars are manufactured with frontal air bags while some vehicles are designed with both frontal and side air bags. It is important to check your car manual to determine which air bags your car has. Air bags were designed to protect adults and children over the age of 13.

Please adhere to these guidelines concerning air bag safety:

• Children under the age of 13 should always be seated in the back seat when riding in the car.
• All children should be properly secured in a car seat, belt-positioning booster seat, or a seat belt that is designed for their age and height.
• With advance frontal air bags, NHTSA recommends keeping at least a 10 inch distance from your chest and the air bag cover to avoid a potential injury.
• It is against the law to install a rear-facing car seat in the front seat of an active air bag. Healthychildren.org states, “Vehicles with no back seat or a back seat that is not made for passengers are not the best choice for traveling with small children; However, the airbag can be turned off in some of these vehicles if the front seat is needed for a child passenger. See your vehicle owner’s manual for more information.”

Air bags and seat belts are tools given as a supplement tool for car safety. Learning to utilize these tools correctly can really make the difference in the lives of everyone. Please share these tips with family and friends. To find more information about driving safety, please visit Ford Driving Skills for Life here.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/Pages/Air-Bag-Safety.aspx

https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipmen...

Registering your car seat is an important part of ensuring you have the most up to date safety information for your child. By registering your car seat, you will receive updates on information regarding the seat as well as if the seat gets recalled.

Before you register your car seat, you need to locate the model number, model name, and date of Manufacture. This will typically be located as a sticker on the car seat. You may have to look underneath the seat or on the side of the seat. It may also be engraved on the bottom of the plastic of the car seat as well.

Once you have located this information, you can either register your car seat online or with the registration card that comes with a new car seat. If you use the registration card that is included with a new car seat, you will have to fill out the card with basic contact information such as your name, address, and email. The model name, model number, and date the car seat was manufactured may already be listed on the card. Typically, you do not have to pay for postage and can place the card directly in your mailbox.

If you cannot locate your registration card or prefer to do it online, there are a couple of different ways you can register the car seat online. You can register directly on the car seat manufacturer’s website. You will need to locate the important information such as model number, name, and expiration date that is found on the sticker of the car seat. The website may vary depending on the manufacture.

You can also registration the car seat on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website. This will help guide you to the correct place to register your car seat online. It also allows you to see if your car seat has been recalled.

Whether, you choose to register your car seat through the mail-in registration card included with the seat, or online it is important that you register your seat to get the most up to date safety information. Registering your car seat is one of the first steps you can take to help create a safe environment for a child passenger. It takes less than five minutes and can be such important resource for you.

Source: Safe Kids

Many people may be wanting to find different ways to get out of the house in a safe way. Spring cleaning may have been on your to-do list before this time of quarantine. However, now is a great time to spring clean your car removing any old gas station receipts, gum wrappers or any other trash that didn’t make it to the trash can. Decluttering your home or car can help you to destress. Consider that any loose objects in your car could potentially become harmful in a crash.

Below are a few helpful tips to remember when spring cleaning your car:

• Remove any clutter that has accumulated over time
• Use glass cleaner to clean your windows. Remember to spray the glass cleaner directly on the cloth before cleaning the windows.
• Vacuum the seats, the trunk, and your floor mats.
• Dust off your dashboard with a cloth
• Remember, to move both the passenger and driver’s seat forward to clean anything that may have rolled underneath the seat.
• Don’t forget to clean your air vents!
• The trunk of your car can also become a place for housing junk. So as you are spring cleaning your car, remember to check your trunk!

I hope by checking off another goal off on your to-do list, provides you a sense of pride and accomplishment. As we continue to move through this difficult time, many times we have to find small victories to keep our spirits up. If you or your family member has children, please check out this article on how to properly clean your car seat here.